CSU senior forward Gerson Santo, left, is fluent in English, but didn't learn the language until three years ago at College of Southern Idaho. / Hunter Thompson/For The Coloradoan

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CSU forward Gerson Santo (15) spent his first 10 months in the United States not understanding what his college basketball coaches were asking him to do. Santo's native language is Portuguese. / Erin Hooley/The Coloradoan

“The plane we took to recruit Gerson made you feel like you were in a station wagon in one of the National Lampoon’s “Vacation” movies. To tell you how old it was, there were still ashtrays in the plane with one pilot we were hoping didn’t have a heart attack.” —CSU assistant coach Ross Hodge

There’s nothing lost in translation; it means the same in English as Portuguese: “yes,” “OK” or often in his case, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I like you, so I’ll be polite and act like I agree.”

The latter used to be a popular go-to for Santo at College of Southern Idaho basketball practices his freshman year. He had no idea what coaches were telling him because he didn’t speak English.

Vocal inflection was all there was to go off of.

If he made a mistake, coaches would yell. Do something right, they’d clap. It took Santo eight months to start understanding English and 10 months to replace head -nodding with legitimate responses. His home was 6,000 miles away in Valencia, Brazil, and all he had in common with his American coaches and teammates was an interest in basketball.

“I came to America in 2010 and didn’t know English at all. I’d just go to practice, play basketball. I didn’t know what coach wanted me to do; I’d just catch the ball and try to do the best I could,” Santo, a CSU senior, said. “Outside the court, I’d just go to my room, shut the door and relax. I was scared to talk to anyone.”

Even without understanding what coaches were wanting him to do, Santo turned in a strong freshman season, averaging 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench and shot 51.6 percent from the field, helping the Golden Eagles to the 2010-11 NJCAA national championship. He was again a reserve as a sophomore, but built up a selection of major Division I scholarship offers, including one from Larry Eustachy and Colorado State University.

Big signing for Eustachy

Eustachy loves telling two stories about Santo, the first being his recruitment.

Santo was supposed to sign with Washington State after an injury-riddled sophomore season at CSI, but wasn’t 100 percent set on the Cougars. He told CSU he’d listen to its pitch, but refused to make a visit to Colorado until Eustachy first came to Idaho.

Three seats in the cabin, one pilot, ash trays in the arm rests and propellers on the wings; the plane Eustachy took on his first CSU recruiting visit, two weeks after being hired, wasn’t exactly luxurious. The plane was old, beat up and had the Rams’ coaching staff praying they’d be able to complete the nonstop flight from Fort Collins to Twin Falls, Idaho, without crashing.

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“You see, the plane we were supposed to take there broke down, so we took this 1950s thing. We had one pilot, three coaches and a Bible going over the mountains. It was really scary,” said Eustachy about his one-hour trip to Magic Valley. “But we hit it off, got him to come to campus and sold him on what we’re doing here.”

In Eustachy’s eyes, no signing has been more overlooked than Santo’s. Without him, CSU probably misses the 2012-13 NCAA tournament and certainly doesn’t earn a second-place finish in the Mountain West.

CSU wanted to redshirt Santo last year but needed a backup post player behind future NBA draft pick Colton Iverson and Santo was the only option. His stats never jumped off the page (2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per game), but he was there to let the Rams’ All-American center catch his breath when needed.

Santo’s role has since changed, starting all 29 games for the the Rams this season. He is CSU’s most efficient scorer, shooting 60 percent from the field.

He’s not an all-conference center and at times finds himself out-matched in the post with his 6-foot-9, 238-pound frame, but he is reliable enough that coaches know they can get about five points and as many rebounds from him a game. On a team where size isn’t a strong suit, his consistency brings them peace of mind.

“Gerson didn’t play a lot of minutes last year, but we certainly didn’t lose anything when he came in for Colton. Then you look at this year, and he’s played a major role — just look at what he did against Wyoming (6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists),” Eustachy said. “I wish he had more time; I wish we could have redshirted him, but he’s one of the bigger signings I’ve ever had and is for sure one of the best kids.”

Talking the talk

Santo still interacts with friends on Facebook and Twitter in Portuguesebut has no trouble holding conversations in English.

Eustachy will have to shout the occasional “Gerson!” in practice when he rolls the wrong way off a screen, but for the most part, he understands what’s being asked of him. If something said does go over his head, Santo speaks up to ask what he’s supposed to do.

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But one of the most satisfying parts of becoming bilingual is having American friends who aren’t, particularly former CSU teammate Greg Smith, who’s playing professional basketball in Brazil.

Albeit in good nature, Smith loved having fun in the locker room last year at the expense of Santo and Joe De Ciman, who’s Canadian. Cultural differences, speech patterns, the metric system — nothing was off limits for Smith, one of the Rams’ most laid-back personalities.

Now Santo gets to return the favor.

Smith has spent the past five months in Sorocaba, Brazil — six hours from Valencia — and has yet to pick up the local language. Santo wants to know what’s taking him so long?

“Sometimes I’ll text him sentences in Portuguese and he’ll get mad and ask what it says because he can’t understand,” Santo said. “So I’ll ask him, ‘man, you haven’t learned Portuguese yet? How long have you been in Brazil?’

“Greg made so much fun of me with my accent and everything, but now he’s the one in Brazil, so I’m the one who gets to make fun of him. It’s payback time.”